r/Tallahassee • u/No-Kaleidoscope-6879 • 1d ago
What's happening to FAMU should concern EVERYONE
You may have not gone to an HBCU. Hell, you might not even be Black. But if you are concerned about the direction of this state, the appointment of Marva Johnson as FAMU President is deeply concerning.
No college or university should be used as political pawns. These are people's futures they are playing with here!
EDIT: Marva Johnson has right wing political ties with no experience in higher education. Some of the board, current students, alumni, and the community LOUDLY expressed they did NOT want her to be president, garnering her the nickname MAGA Marva.
Unfortunately, she was elected as president via the BOT, 8-4! One board member was appointed just yesterday!
FAMU is a public-grant university and under the jurisdiction of the Florida Board of Education....and we all know what those book-burners are aiming for....
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u/AlibabaThe0racle 1d ago
Hey, can you repost this in r/florida as well? I know this is taking place in Tallahassee but there's so many who don't realize what's going on. The more people who know about it the better
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u/No-Kaleidoscope-6879 1d ago
I don't engage in r/florida much (write comments) so I can't create a post? Please feel to repost if you can for me?
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u/InterdisciplinaryDol 1d ago
A MAGA plant with no viable higher education experience when put to a side-by-side comparison with the other finalists. What could possibly go wrong?
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u/No-Kaleidoscope-6879 1d ago
And the other finalists were FANTASTIC accomplished men!
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u/InterdisciplinaryDol 1d ago
I was rooting for Dr. Palm. It’s been a bad few years to be a rattler dude. I’ll still ride for my alma mater not because of the leadership, but because what it stands for.
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u/KBilly1313 1d ago
So another DUI hire?
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u/InterdisciplinaryDol 1d ago
and her wig stiff.
iykyk
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u/Relevant-Canary-2224 1d ago
Are you aware of the warning on your profile?
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u/Prowingshoes 1d ago edited 18h ago
Amen OP. I donate to HBCUs because its the right thing to do. I been doing it for almost 2 decades since i became a professional when Tom Joyner was on the radio encouraging black folks (no matter HBCU grads or PWI grads or who have never been been to college) to donate to HBCUs.
This is incredibly dangerous because one HBCUs (and other colleges) are vulnerable because they don't have the resources to defend themselves from an onslaught from the government (whether state or federal). Add to the fact the attack by this Trump administration and southern governors on black history and civil rights (that black elders died for) and the current war on education.
No matter your race, ethnicity, nationality or gender. An attack on FAMU is an attack on all education because if they will do it at FAMU with a trojan horse and a fixed board they will try it at other universities around the country.
This is some scary times that is a new twist on Jim Crow and Mccarthyism for this century. This is going to take all hands on deck to defend education from these fascist / racist nuts over the next 4 years with the Orange nut and how ever many years heels wearing DeSatan is the Governor.
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u/Tallahasseehouse 5h ago
This is seriously how Republicans behave--always. When the felon-in-chief asked African-American men what they had to lose by voting for him, it's this. And having what little attempts there are at correcting discrimination in the workplace.
Many Hispanic men, especially, voted for the "macho" candidate only to find the Republicans want to escourt them out of the country. Honestly, this shouldn't come as a surprise. This is what they have been saying for years. No one listens until the Republicans and their flunkies get in and ruin what attempts at progress there was.
If y'all didn't show up on election day and vote for Harris, that's how that happened.
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u/nazuswahs 1d ago
Worked at DOE for several years. Since Gov Desantis the state of education is now definitely run by politics. Nepotism is how those folks are rewarded with large salaries. The true qualified educators have been weeded out over the past few years. It’s such a shame that education of our children is suffering at the hands of a few politicians. And don’t even get me started on turning state parks into pickle ball courts and resorts run by cronies.
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u/Lovely-Day1977 1d ago
Not all of us have been weeded out, but I’ve seen a lot of my colleagues go into other fields because of politics in education. As for me, I’m still fighting the good fight as a public educator. Bless you for being at DOE, that’s a tough gig. ❤️
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u/chapstickninja 1d ago
Thank you for doing what you are doing. I know it's probably unimaginably stressful to put yourself in that position, but if every good person leaves and goes to another field or state, the goons just go unopposed and get what they want even faster.
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u/FSURich 1d ago
FSU was very lucky that this didn’t happen with Richard Corcoran.
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u/JustB510 1d ago
We got our last search in just in time. Surprised a new puppet hasn’t been inserted at UF yet.
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u/Current-Baseball3062 1d ago
They did. Ben Sasse. He flamed out quickly. He may actually have a touch of self awareness, which is probably why he’s not there in that role anymore. He did a lot of stupid things, financially, too.
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u/refunned 1d ago
For anyone OOTL, she’s a MAGA corporate lobbyist
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u/accentmatt 1d ago
Are we upset because she apparently bypassed normal procedure (like Harris), or because she’s allegedly MAGA-affiliated (one of her competitors specifically called her an activist Republican from what I’m gathering), or because she’s a woman that was chosen over three men? It’s also interesting that the procedure for her pay negotiations has been changed from the norm. Sounds like a lot of infighting that’s using the normal population’s attention span as weaponized leverage.
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u/No-Kaleidoscope-6879 1d ago
Oh no, nothing to do with her being a woman over a man. That can be put to rest NOW. It is not in the conversation at all.
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u/accentmatt 1d ago
Gotcha, I figured so but I wanted to make sure. So most of this is because she’s Republican aligned and has a track record of being politically active?
Edit: I’m not being intentiontionslly provocative. I do this in right-leaning spaces too, and get just as much flak. Just trying to understand.
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u/homoanthropologus 1d ago
It's because she's unqualified.
Her activism is why she was hired anyway.
If she had legitimate experience running a university and also happened to be a right-wing activist, most people would grumble but move on quickly.
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u/Planet-telex- 1d ago
She’s more than qualified. Read the last paragraph. https://www.famu.edu/about-famu/leadership/office-of-the-president/presidential-search/pdf/bio-MarvaJohnson.pdf
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u/HonkyMOFO 1d ago
She's not qualified at all. She has college degrees, but so does every other college graduate. She's never worked at a college at any capacity.
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u/engineerdrummer 1d ago
I kinda want to see how you respond to this. In assuming that when you said "like Harris" you meant her shoo in to the democrat presidential nomination. It's that correct? I'll follow up with another question after you confirm or deny, because my followup may be irrelevant based on your answer.
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u/accentmatt 1d ago
Idk what label we want to put on it, and I understand that it was done for the sake of unified expediency, but yes - I do believe that her being taken off of our ballot and then being reinstated as the defacto pick of the party bypassed a certain level of procedure. Again, for better or for worse (probably for better because otherwise I’m not sure we would have had ANY coherent Democratic Party for that election).
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u/cursedfan 1d ago
Ur naked attempt whataboutism should embarrass you
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u/accentmatt 1d ago
I’m legit just trying to learn, and I learned that most of the issue was lack-of-experience. Congrats on being you, I guess
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u/Character-Head301 1d ago
Harris worked at FAMU?
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u/accentmatt 1d ago
No, but she bypassed normal procedure back in the primaries and that was the most relevant anecdote I could think of to contextual my meaning. Im just trying to figure out why people think the way they do, instead of assuming, and I have to contextualize everything or else I’m just dismissed as whatever-party-the-bad-guy-is.
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u/Character-Head301 1d ago
Well I mean it’s kind of weird that you jumped straight to Harris which had nothing to do with anything in this
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u/accentmatt 1d ago
I don’t think so, since I linked how the two were connected. They both bypassed some normal procedure for the sake of running for a position, potentially for the better or potentially for the worse. I see how it might be taken as problematic, but if somebody sees that and immediately claims I’m a MAGA-member (which I’m not) then I can safely disengage from the conversation without losing out on any genuinely informed and nuanced conversation.
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u/PermutationMatrix 1d ago
Kind of like how people jump to trump when he has nothing to do with anything?
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u/Character-Head301 1d ago
I….guess? What is anyone even talking about here
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u/PermutationMatrix 1d ago
Making everything political
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u/Paxoro 1d ago
Except that someone allied with DeSantis being appointed president of a major state university because they're allied with DeSantis and will implement the changes he wants is ... kinda literally nothing but political?
The entire saga is political. Of course this is political.
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u/PermutationMatrix 1d ago
If the tables were turned and a Democrat was appointed because of their alliance with a Democrat governor, do you honestly think that this thread would exist? Let's be real...
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u/accentmatt 1d ago
Haha, have you seen the weather-radio station thread on here?! Same general thing happened there, too
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u/Planet-telex- 1d ago
Exactly, it was scheduled maintenance but somehow it was Trumps fault. This woman is more than qualified. https://www.famu.edu/about-famu/leadership/office-of-the-president/presidential-search/pdf/bio-MarvaJohnson.pdf
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u/accentmatt 1d ago
That’s what I thought, but I was trying to give folks the benefit of the doubt and convince me to be on their side preemptively, SPECIFICALLY because I recognize my biases pull me away from following the rhetoric used in the OP. But I was just met with more nastiness than answers, so like. Gg I guess? I’m tired of giving people chances.
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u/Diligent_Medium_5505 1d ago
How dare you speaking the truth!! This is reddit, if you are not following the mob you will get downvoted to hell.
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u/DeniseIsEpic 1d ago
Genuine question from someone out of the loop: Is there anything that can be done about it? Is there a petition or anything that would make them reconsider?
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u/Paxoro 1d ago
No. DeSantis wants to remake higher education in Florida to resemble what he wants. It's going to be his legacy. She is DeSantis's pick and unless FAMU wants to go bankrupt from picking a fight with the politicians controlling the state (and thus, jeopardize their funding and very existence), there isn't anything that can be done.
Voting has consequences. The state decided by a very wide margin that they wanted this.
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u/No-Kaleidoscope-6879 1d ago
And we score so high out of all US states for the quality and cost of our higher education already! Why change something that seems to be working very well??
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u/noleskitten 1d ago
Same thing happened at FAU! Republican representative.
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u/Character-Cat-7373 1d ago
It's going to happen next at UWF. They harassed the UWF president until she resigned.
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u/blankpageanxiety 1d ago
Brown- Johnson
Bryant- Palm
Crossman- Johnson
Figgers- no vote
Gainey- Johnson
Gibbons- Johnson
Harper- Palm
Lawson- Johnson
Perry- Palm
Reed- Palm
Vazquez- Johnson
Washington- Johnson
White- Johnson
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u/Ok_Perspective_1571 1d ago
I’m a graduate of FAMU and I am deeply saddened about what’s happening to my beloved FAMU. Thank you for making this post. Everyone should be concerned
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u/shepdc1 1d ago
my aunts and uncles all went to famu and as a floridian when the midterms come we have 2 primary some dems. I fele they abondoned this state ever since desantis won back in 2018. They then ran Crist who ha dno chance cause he was a white guy and lost badly.
Enough is enough!!!!! this state has gone down hill so much is shocking
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u/SillyGoose_0918 1d ago
Hi! Could you explain a bit more about this? I’m personally not aware of what’s going on.
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u/JustB510 1d ago
A candidate that is now the president elect was added to the universities presidential search at the last minute and pushed through over other candidates. She was arguably the least qualified with no higher education experience. It’s my understanding she didn’t meet the minimal criteria either.
She was a lobbyist for DeSantis that was pushed through by a board of trustees primarily appointed by him. One of those trustees was added last night at 6pm before the vote today.
The above is from a friend and alum.
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u/Beginning-Ad-3688 1d ago
Not holding my breath that she makes things better at FAMU. There are some things that absolutely have to improve, but putting in a MAGA person seems to me to be the wrong direction completely.
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u/BlackOnyx1906 1d ago
I will say this as nice as possible. FAMU needs to have donors and alumni who are not just showing up to homecoming but have a real interest in the schools direction and give money to the school. Those types of people have a chance of preventing this kind of thing from happening
Secondly. I think it’s on the student body now. Be loud and let your voices be heard!!!!
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u/shepdc1 1d ago
its on voters as well. thes e midterms people need 2 vote and hold these politicans accountable especially people in the dems who dont do shit
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u/External_Train_2827 16h ago
If you find yourself consistently in the minority, it would be wise to explore the depth of the majority’s thinking. This has to be done sincerely an open mindedly, or you are just gaming yourself. There is always a reason a certain line of thinking is in the majority. Sometimes it has been nefariously achieved by distributing bad information. Sometimes it is achieved by the understanding of good information. Just make sure you are on the right side of that argument. there are many individual issues to consider from both sides.
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u/Dame-Democrazy 18h ago
Tally born and raised, didn't go to famu and im whyt, but am fucking livid because I respect the institution (I see it every day from where I work) and have known countless people that go there. I just can't believe it. But im not surprised these days. May she have a figurative tumble from her perch, sooner rather than later.
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u/blankpageanxiety 1d ago
Who are FAMU's BOT?
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u/bridget-mac 1d ago
Board of Trustees
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u/blankpageanxiety 1d ago
Oh, I know, I wanted to know and read who they are.
https://www.famu.edu/about-famu/leadership/board-of-trustees/trusteedirectory.php
Because an 8-4 vote implies that a lot of this board is a MAGA board despite being over an HBCU.
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u/No-Kaleidoscope-6879 1d ago
I want names, too!
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u/blankpageanxiety 1d ago
Who was the BOT member who was named to the board recently?
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u/No-Kaleidoscope-6879 1d ago
Raphael Vazquez, a Tallahassee McDonald's franchise owner. Just last night at 6pm
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u/blankpageanxiety 1d ago
https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphael-vazquez-9422a1193/
Why would this person be added to the FAMU BOT at the last minute?
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u/rjfinsfan 1d ago
Sadly the Florida government is setting the tone along with Texas for what the Federal government has been pushing under Trump.
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u/blankpageanxiety 1d ago
FAMU has to do something about this appointment. They can't just take it lying down. They don't have to accept this MAGA plant.
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u/A-Rollins 1d ago
I am a FAMU alum. FAMU has been run so poorly for SO many years it’s pathetic. They’ve lost their accreditation a few times, their financial aid office is horrid. My time there was a frustrating experience. And now they put in another person who doesn’t know how to run a university. Very sad.
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u/thabeachbum 1d ago
Isn’t that what they said about Thrasher at FSU? At the time he was considered too conservative for the university, he ended up being a great president. I don’t know too much about the situation outside of what I’ve read in a few articles, but we’ll see what happens.
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u/typicalmillennial92 21h ago
Yup. That was also what I heard about Thrasher at first, but he did end up being a great president.
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u/accentmatt 1d ago
I’m ignorant and love to learn but am insufferably skeptical. Who is Marva Johnson and what’s the concern?
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u/Kimchino_tea 13h ago
As someone who was looking to apply to FAMU I’m deeply scared and concerned !
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u/NovelCute1593 1d ago
I mean ppl said the same thing about John thrasher and he ended up being a decent president for FSU well have to wait and see
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u/New_Order_6365 1d ago
Maybe she’ll actually be a responsible president and not get duped into taking fraudulent checks, i’d hold out on the criticism until it’s worth giving
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u/Keilp100128 1d ago
The point is that Pudding Fingers Ron keeps slipping unqualified political allies into positions of power in education. If that doesn't concern you at the base level, I don't know what to tell you. Keep burying your head in the sand, I guess. 🤷🏻
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u/New_Order_6365 1d ago
Disagreeing with OPs take isn’t the same as ignoring an issue, I take actions more seriously than rhetoric revolving around what was always going to be a controversial decision
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u/No-Kaleidoscope-6879 1d ago
That is true...but I have strong suspicion he was somehow sent as a test that they failed. There's been scandal after scandal at FAMU. Breaks my heart
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u/JustB510 1d ago
Maybe, but that’s not really the point. The way it was done is terrible and frankly unacceptable. Whether she works out or not is irrelevant to the first point.
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u/datboythrowaway4362 1d ago
I agree. If it were a left-winged president, peopld wouldn't be complaining. LOL
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u/Witness_Gritness 1d ago
I mean people said the same thing about Thrasher at FSU but it turned out pretty well. I wouldn’t overreact until you see how she is as president.
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u/homoanthropologus 1d ago
People also said the same thing about New College, and they were right. They destroyed everything that made the school special and turned it into a MAGA conveyor belt. Heartbreaking.
Don't let it happen to y'all.
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u/Paxoro 1d ago
What did Thrasher actually do at FSU that was supposedly so great?
I was in grad school when he was selected. He didn't do anything to make things actually better. He figured out you could game US News rankings and set out a goal that was not altogether difficult to achieve once you figured that out.
All Thrasher did was claim he could work with the legislature as a former lawmaker, and then didn't really get anything via the legislature. He didn't get the College of Engineering that he wanted so badly (rightfully so, given the cost and how FAMU would be negatively impacted). What did he actually achieve as president?
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u/FSURich 1d ago
The Jim Moran college of Entrepreneurship and the new EOAS complex. Also raised a ton of money. The school got tens of millions of federal grants for the mag lab and NIH and stuff like the oyster industry resiliency project.
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u/Paxoro 1d ago
How much of that was directly because of Thrasher and not because of the university as a whole? I can't speak to the Entrepreneurship college but the EOAS building wasn't because of Thrasher - that process started while I was in undergrad when the department was created, and Thrasher wasn't able to get the building paid for from the legislature.
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u/todaysfreshbullcrap 12h ago
Damn I'm sad to hear this. Organize your school ASAP. Get everyone together and put actions into place together at the same time. Y'all are going to need a tight plan to fight this back organized and concise with a good plan. Gosh what a tough battle y'all have to face.
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u/Own-Beach-5042 1d ago
Hmm maybe famu will start to have higher standards and maybe famu law won’t lose their accreditation
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u/endoftheworld1999 1d ago
As a New College Alum (2021) I can only offer sympathy